Toy Kunai's
by Hiftaru
Summary: Josuke is a new student in the Konoha Ninja Academy and he wants to become a strong ninja. One to remember, one that lived through dangers and that helped his village in it's time of need, and with all the dangers coming to Konoha, he knows this is his chance. ( Bad summary, I know. I was never good at those, the fic is much better, I promise )
1. Chapter 1

**_A.N: This is my first FanFic, ever. It'll basically be the Naruto Arcs but with my own twists – and OC's – in them, of course, my OC will be the Main Character and I will add some more in as well so it won't be so dull. This first chapter will be pretty long so… Have fun and enjoy!_** **\\(=^3^=)/**

"Word" = Talking

Word = Narration

" _Word"_ = Thought & Reading

-o-

 **** ** _Toy Kunai's_**

The rays of sun filtered through a red curtain, disturbing the sleep of a young boy. Opening his eyes, annoyed by the existence of the sun, he sat up in his bed and turned towards the curtains, throwing them open.

His eyes widened as he realized the position of the sun in the sky.

 **"** ** _I'm late!_** **"** Jumping off the bed, he scouted the room for his glasses and found them lying on the floor.

Quickly, he grabbed them and put on the first clothes he found -which were a red t-shirt and some black pants- and ran out of his room.

He walked down the stairs and jumped over the last five steps, almost falling down.

Running into the kitchen, he expected to meet his Mother and Father sitting on the table, but was met by silence "Oh right... They had a mission today".

On the table there was a small note that read: 'Josuke, sorry we couldn't make it to your first day at the academy, since this mission is too important and can't be canceled, but don't worry; when we come back, we can go out to celebrate! – Mom'

Already feeling a bit sad - at the fact that today was his first day at the academy and that his parents weren't there - he forgot that he was late and walked to make some toast; it wasn't until he finished making the toast that he remembered.

"Damn it! Why do I have to forget everything?" Eating his toast quickly, and almost - _almost_ \- choking on it, he grabbed his bag which had a small notebook and a pencil and sprinted out the door.

 _X-X-X-X-X_

At the academy gates, three of the new students were standing, waiting for their friend. "Where is that idiot? He promised he wouldn't be late"

Another one yawned and answered with a bored expression "Don't worry about it, has he _ever_ been on time for _anything_? Besides, waiting outside is too much of a drag. Let's go inside; Come on, Kiba"

The last of the three was finishing a bag of chips "He probably had something important to do, don't worry". And with that, two of them walked in, leaving the first one standing outside a bit longer.

"What do you think, Akamaru?" He asked the white dog on his head and was answered immediately with a small bark from it, nodding while he did so.

He looked around a bit more and then walked in to catch the other two.

 _X-X-X-X-X_

Josuke was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, trying to make it to the Academy quickly; his thoughts were racing through his mind.

 _"_ _I can't be late on the first day, Kiba's gonna kill me!"_ The thought of his best friend beating the crap out of him on Day 1 was enough to make him motivation to hurry up.

He jumped over some dogs that started barking as a thought came through his head, _"If I'm late, my new Sensei will nag me for sure"._

Distracted by his thoughts, Josuke didn't notice the oncoming wall, crashing straight into it.

A bit dazed, but luckily, he was resistant and shrugged it off as a new thought came into his head _"And how will everyone else react? They'll probably laugh…"_

You see, a few years back, when Josuke was about 5, his mother had brought him to a nearby park to make some friends even though Josuke was a bit… against the idea.

"NOO! I DON'T WANT TO GO TO THE PARK!" A five year old Josuke was being dragged by his mother towards said park.

She giggled a bit at her son's reaction but kept firm on the idea "You're gonna enter the Ninja Academy in a couple of years and you don't want to end up alone now, do you?"

This statement made Josuke a little less resistant, but still stubborn "But what if… What if bad guys come and invade the park and kill me? The blame would go on _you_ for making me go!" He was certainly trying his best to not go.

Although, what he said had no effect whatsoever, as she just ignored his protests and replied sweetly "Look, there are some kids in the park already, have fun!" And with that, she picked him up and threw him towards the grass at the entrance, barricading the exit with her body.

Seeing no way out of this, Josuke decided to make the best of this and - _unwillingly_ \- tried to make some friends.

He scanned the park, searching for any worthy candidates until he heard a soft bark at his feet, he turned his head down and saw a small, white dog.

"Hey there, little buddy. You lost?" He asked the dog as he picked him up.

Another soft bark answered him as he held the dog level to his face until he heard some footsteps approaching him.

The person approaching him was a boy that looked to be about his age, with small fangs poking out of his closed mouth. "Akamaru! Stop running away like that!"

Josuke connected the dots immediately and asked "So, this is your dog?"

The newly-approached nodded and replied "Yeah, this is Akamaru; he likes to run off sometimes. I'm Kiba"

Handing over the dog, Josuke saw this as a good start to make a friend, "Hi Kiba, I'm Josuke Kazuko, nice to meet you". In his mind, he was mentally congratulating himself for learning all those good manners from his father.

"You wanna play something?" Was Josuke's next question which was answered straight away with a bark and a 'Yes'

They decided on something simple: Tag. **(A.N: Which is apparently much more complex than it leads to believe, look it up on Wikipedia)**

After a while, some other kids joined in and eventually, all the kids in the park were playing the _'simplest'_ game. **(A.N: No, seriously, look it up)**

When they got tired, the sun was still up and some had to leave, but the ones who stayed would later become Josuke's best friends: Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino

However, Josuke made friends with _most_ of the kids that day, there was one that his mother had warned him to stay away from, a spiky-haired blonde kid with an orange jacket. He didn't think much of it and ignored him like the rest.

All that memory crossed his head in a second as he continued to jump towards the Academy with a newly formed smile

Despite his efforts, he didn't make it in time as he saw the Academy in a short distance.

As he landed on the ground near the lonely swing, he realized there was no one to be seen. _"I'm really late!"_ He made a mad dash towards the door and quickly searched up his name and class before bursting open the doors and running in.

He arrived at the door of his new classroom and gently slid it open; trying to come in quietly and unnoticed… to then immediately fail.

As soon as he opened the door and took a step in, he tripped over an imperfection on the doorframe and fell flat on his face, getting the attention of most of the class.

He lay on the ground behind a bench, hoping his Sensei wouldn't notice. Josuke lifted his head and saw the feet of his Sensei, then lifted his head higher and saw the angry face glaring down at him.

"I'm guessing you're Josuke Kazuko?" His Sensei asked while checking a sheet of paper. Josuke immediately stood up and bowed, mainly to avoid his classmates stare.

"Forgive me for arriving late, Sensei!" Since he didn't know the name yet, he couldn't properly apologize.

Caught a bit off guard from the bow, he answered "My _name_ is Iruka"

Josuke stood back up straight and nodded, "Forgive me for arriving late, Iruka" He then sat down on one of the back left benches of the class, his head down to avoid Kiba's 'You-promised-you-wouldn't-be-late' glare.

Iruka cleared his throat and walked back to the blackboard, explaining on the way "Don't worry, we just finished roll-call, no one was late by the way… except you"

He rubbed the back of his neck and gave a small, nervous laugh, letting Iruka return to what he was explaining.

Until that point, he didn't realize that he was not sitting alone in the back, turning his head; he was utterly surprised to see a girl who he had never seen before. He was surprised because of the fact that he thought that he had already met all the kids that would've been in the Academy this year.

Fascinated by this new person, he studied her carefully: A cream-colored hooded jacket and navy-blue pants with a short, leveled princess hair cut just above her forehead with chin-length strands framing her face.

But her eyes; her eyes were like two white pearls, which Josuke could not stop staring at, until he realized he _was_ staring and that the new girl had noticed.

"Uh… Are you okay?" The girl asked him, snapping Josuke out of his daze; he tried covering the growing blush that had appeared on his face by pulling his shirt over his head, while laughing nervously. "O-Of course! Wh-why wouldn't I be?"

He was already mentally hitting himself " _Why am I stuttering? I haven't done that since I was 4! I thought I had it under control"_

However, if he _did_ have control over his stutter, he didn't have it anymore as he tried to answer her next question. "Then why did you pull your shirt over your head…?"

Josuke couldn't bring himself to tell the truth so he lied, _again_ : "I-I don't like the… the… The sun! Y-Yeah, it's uh… It was burning my retina…" He hoped with all his might that she wouldn't catch on.

And 'luckily', he didn't have to hope anymore as Iruka's voice brought him back to class.

"Josuke! Just because you're late doesn't mean that you shouldn't pay attention to what I'm saying… And get that shirt off your head!"

"R-Right away, Iruka!" He quickly pulled his shirt back down and covered his face with a book so no one could see he was still blushing.

Poor little Josuke had no idea that he was blushing over the cute girl, since he had never felt like that for anyone before, all the girls he had met were only friends for him but this, _this girl_ was different, he didn't know why, he just felt that way.

"Don't call me Iruka! For you, it's 'Iruka-sensei'!"

"Sure thing, Iruka!"

The Sensei sighed and turned back to the board, knowing that that would end in a never-ending loop.

Josuke lowered the book and took out a piece of paper, writing down a message for his only female friend, Ino: _"Ino, do you know who the girl next to me is? - Josuke"_

He squished it to a ball and threw it towards his target, hitting it square on the head, falling and rolling away.

Josuke started panicking, if someone else picked up that paper, they would misinterpret the message. Ino wouldn't, she knows about this stuff.

Luckily, Ino felt the paper ball and looked back to see who threw it, seeing Josuke frantically pointing the ground behind her; she got the message and found the ball.

Quickly opening it and reading it, a smirk grew on her face; she turned towards Josuke and saw that he was blushing.

As she wrote down her answer, her smirk never faltered and neither did Josuke's blush.

While waiting for the answer, Josuke decided to pay attention to what Iruka was saying: "The graduation for Genin will be held at the end of this semester and for those who pass; the teams will be picked at the start of next semester **(A.N: Since I have no idea when those things happened and I'm too lazy to look it up, I'll just roll with it.)**

 _"_ _I wonder who my team will be. I don't think it matters that much, I know most of the class already… except tha-"._ His thoughts were cut off, however, as the small paper ball impacted his forehead.

Glaring down at Ino – who was trying not to laugh – he spread open the paper and read it silently: _"Her name is Hinata. Why did you want to know? Do you like her?"_

He cursed himself for asking Ino. Why did he think she wouldn't misinterpret it? She's those types of girls who want to know all the gossip, but Josuke did not like this 'Hinata', no. He merely wanted to know who she was… This was what Josuke kept repeating to himself.

He took out his pencil and wrote down in response: _"No, I do not_ like _her. I just wanted to know who she was, is all. Why do you even care?!"_ He didn't know this, but the blush had never left its place on his face and Ino was still smirking at him mischievously.

As he was about to throw it back to her, he noticed that the paper was no longer in his hands, but in Iruka's hands, high above his head.

Iruka had an angry look on his face since his class was being interrupted but after reading the note and its contents, his angry frown turned to an understanding smirk.

"Josuke, did you send this?"

Josuke refused to look at his Sensei in the eye, out of embarrassment or out of the anger of being discovered, he did not know but answered anyway

"I… I might've…"

Iruka opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a loud voice

"What does it say, Iruka-sensei?" The loud voice came from the front of the room, out of a spiky-haired blonde with an orange jacket.

The Sensei was about to say something again as another loud voice interrupted him, _again_ "That's none of your business, you baka!" Josuke turned to see a pink-haired girl connect her fist with the blonde's head.

Josuke had met the pink-haired before, a long time ago with the rest of his classmates, her name was Sakura Haruno. As for the blonde, even though he had never met him before, he had heard his name was Naruto Uzumaki and that he should stay away from him at all costs.

No one ever told him why though, so he was interested as to why everyone told him to stay away from him.

Iruka turned to Sakura "That's enough, Sakura! No violence in _my_ classroom" he then turned to Naruto "And what is written in here does not concern you!"

Naruto sat down holding his head while murmuring something along the lines of "That really hurt, y'know?" While Sakura ignored what he said and sat down next to him again.

After that scene, Iruka knelt down towards Josuke and whispered near his ear "If you want to know more about Hinata, I can show you her file after class… Pretty sure that's against the rules though". The blush on Josuke's face had started to fade away as he nodded and took a quick glance towards Hinata.

Iruka returned to the front of the class and explained something quickly "Kids, tomorrow we will have our first lesson and for it, we will need each of you to bring a toy kunai, **_toy!_** We don't want an accident like last year…"

 _X-X-X-X-X_

It is after class and the sun is still up.

Josuke is standing in front of Iruka's desk waiting for said Sensei to take out a file.

"Alright! Here it is: Hinata's file, remember: Don't you **_dare_** use this for personal gain or you will be immediately kicked out of the Academy. Give it back in ten minutes, max"

He gave a giddy smile and grabbed the file off the desk, opening it immediately.

His eyes skimmed over the pages quickly until he stopped at one word: _Hyūga_ **.** He stopped reading and the smile got replaced by a frown.

She was a Hyūga, which meant that she was out-of-bounds, so she couldn't be friends with someone normal like Josuke.

That one word got Josuke sad since he was really interested in her… **Not** interested like Ino would think, interested in the fact that he wanted to know more about her. Sure he had her file in his hands but it wasn't the same as knowing it in person.

He set the file back on the desk and thanked the Sensei.

"Leaving so soon? You barely read anything". Josuke nodded and made his way towards the door.

Iruka put the file back in the cabinet and called out to him one last time "Alright then. Josuke, remember that you have to bring the toy kunai tomorrow"

Once again, Josuke nodded and left silently.

He didn't feel like jumping home like he always did, so he ended up walking.

Halfway home, he remembered that he had to get the kunai, his house only had real kunais and Iruka was specific on that it had to be a toy.

Before making it to his house –were his parents were waiting- he turned left and entered the market street.

 _"_ _Amazing how close everything is to everything in this village…"_

He walked through the streets, browsing the shops in search of the searched object until he heard a loud –and familiar- voice.

"But I have enough money to pay for it!" **(A.N: I wasn't sure as to add the –dattebayo in this Fic so I didn't, just in case, here's how it sounds with it: "But I have enough money to pay for it-dattebayo!" Yeah… didn't like it)**

Was that voice… Naruto's?

Josuke ran towards the source of the voice and saw his blonde classmate get -literally- kicked out of a store.

"Go on, scram! I don't sell to monsters like you!" The angry shop-keeper was standing in the doorframe of his store shouting at him.

A small-medium crowd was surrounding Naruto and the shopkeeper.

"Get away from my store! You're bringing me bad publicity!" The shopkeeper looked furious. Josuke wondered why…

The crowd had begun to whisper and point at the kicked boy, some were even laughing.

Naruto -on the other hand- looked destroyed and tears were starting to form in the corners of his eyes. The shopkeeper wasn't making it any easier.

"What are you waiting for? An invitation? Get out!"

Josuke couldn't stand it anymore; if there was anything he hated more than over-priced Ramen Cups, it was people bullying someone defenseless for no reason.

Josuke gathered some courage and shouted as much as dared to. "Stop annoying him, you monster!"

He immediately shut his mouth; regretting causing the unwanted attention, but it was too late to back out now. He had to go through 'till the end.

The shopkeeper, Naruto and the crowd, turned towards Josuke and on the Shopkeeper's face, there was an evil smile.

"Ya see? Even that little kid thinks you're a monster" A few members of the crowd were laughing as Mr. Nameless Shopkeeper walked back towards his store with a triumphant grin on his face

Naruto was staring at Josuke with hatred; he thought that the shout was meant towards him!

Mustering up some more courage, he shouted again, but not as loudly "I was talking to you, you old man!"

Stopping in his tracks, the shopkeeper turned towards Josuke and took a threatening step towards him "What was that, you stupid brat?"

The thing that Josuke hated more than anything was being called 'brat'. He found it very condescending. Although very scared, Josuke stood firm and chose his next words 'carefully'

"Why do you treat him like a monster? He's just a kid! Like me!"

Nameless shopkeeper laughed along with most of the crowd, "Because that's what he is, a monster!"

Taking a wary step forward, Josuke looked at Naruto, then back at the shopkeeper "So what if he pulls pranks from time to time… and is _very_ annoying… and loud… and obn- Not the point! The point is that what he does doesn't make him a monster!"

The shopkeeper had had enough; he didn't feel like fighting with some kids, it would bring bad publicity. So he turned away "I wouldn't expect a brat like you to understand"

As Josuke glared at the Shopkeeper's leaving silhouette, the shopkeeper turned back to Naruto and barked out "And you, out of my sight!" This made the spiky-haired blonde wipe off a tear that had fallen and walk away, frowning.

But before entering the shop, he addressed Josuke one last time "Now, if there's anything you would like to buy; _please_ feel free to ask" There was a very large hint of sarcasm in his voice that Josuke couldn't catch.

Josuke followed him into the store and cleared his throat as to get his attention.

"Hn? Why are you here, you stupid brat?" Josuke tried his best to keep his anger towards the man under control as he pointed towards the toy kunais on the shelf.

 _Silence_

Josuke let out a barely audible "Two please…"

The man looked at the pointed finger, then at the object and made the connection.

"Two toy kunais? … Ya know, when I said 'Feel free to ask', I was being sarcastic…"

However, Josuke kept pointing "I have more than enough for the two" He was sure that the shopkeeper would try to make him pay more.

The man was not stupid, he knew that after the scene outside; the second one was likely for the spiky blonde.

"And uh… Who's the second one for?" He asked casually, trying to catch Josuke.

Quickly, Josuke made up a lie

"My sister… she loves to play Ninja with me"

The man didn't believe him entirely so instead of asking for what two kunais would normally cost ( 250 Yen ) **( A.N: I have no idea how money works in other countries and less in a fictional world, just gonna make up the amounts xD )** He asked for 500 Yen.

Josuke knew that two toy kunais didn't cost that much but accepted, paying the money.

The Shopkeeper handed him a bag with the objects in them and Josuke nodded and walked towards the door.

He opened the door but before leaving, he looked back and said happily "I don't have a sister", and with that, he ran off in search of Naruto.

Mr. Shopkeeper stood behind the counter for a few seconds until he figured it out: The second one _was_ for the monster. He ran out to catch the boy but didn't make it in time as he Josuke's silhouette jumping away.

 _X-X-X-X-X_

Naruto was sitting alone on the swing, swaying back and forward slowly.

He heard a noise from a nearby bush and jumped off the swing, taking a fighting stance before asking "Who's there?"

The sound turned out to be Josuke emerging from the bushes, "Don't worry, it's just me: Josuke. Geez, you took a long time to find. I looked everywhere" He brushed off some leaves that had gotten stuck on his hair and rearranged his glasses.

He gave a friendly smile but Naruto seemed skeptical.

"Why are _you_ here?" Sitting back down on the swing, Naruto glared at his classmate, obviously still ticked off about before.

"I, uh… I brought you this!" Josuke shoved forward the bag that was in his hands and in it were the two toy kunais that he bought from the store.

Naruto's eyes lit up for a second before turning off again, he didn't trust his classmate and now, he was suspicious "Hmph… I don't want it"

The smile on Josuke's face faltered "But I bought you one too, even though I'm pretty sure that that guy at the store hates me now"

Naruto stood up aggressively and glared at Josuke "I bet that that shopkeeper guy sent you! It's probably an explosive kunai. But I won't fall for it! No way!"

Josuke took a step back but held the bag at the same distance while Naruto yelled at him "You're no different! You're worse! Pretending to stand up for me back then just to confuse me later!"

Even though he tried his best to stay calm, Josuke's eyes widened. Was this really how Naruto thought about everyone?

Taking a step back, Josuke regained control "No… I really did stand up for you before; I couldn't stand people mistreating one of my classmates for no reason. I don't know about everyone else. But I actually want to help you. I know everyone else thinks and treats you like a monster but… _I_ don't think you're one"

 _Silence_

Naruto still seemed skeptical, but he loosened up a bit "You really got one for me?"

He gave a small nod and pushed the bag out further.

Finally loosening up, Naruto reached a careful hand into the bag and took out a kunai.

Since no one had ever done anything nice for him, he had no idea how to respond, so instead " _Why_ did you get me one?"

Josuke shrugged "Isn't it obvious?" Naruto still looked confused. Josuke sighed happily "It's because you're gonna be a Konoha Ninja soon, just like me!"

He gave a slight nod and replied "Thanks… Josuke"

Giving a big grin, Josuke turned around "Okay then. See ya tomorrow!" And with that, Josuke jumped back home, forgetting about the troubles from today.

-o-

 **Well that was the first Chapter of my first Fic, to whoever stumbled upon this, I hope you enjoyed it. I will try to write the entire Naruto series ( No Filler unless I feel it necessary ) and if you** ** _did_** **happen to like it, send a review so I know on what to improve or not.**

 **I accept constructive criticism but without insults please.**

 **In case you didn't understand some Japanese words, here are le translations:**

 **Baka = Idiot/Stupid**

 **Sensei = Teacher**

 **With that, I say Goodbye c:**


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N: So I found a** ** _decent_** **name for this Fic: Toy Kunai's and Chapter Two is up! Didn't have anything else to waste my time on (Except perhaps studying for the upcoming tests…) so I decided to continue this. This Chapter the teams will be chosen that's for sure.**

"Word" = Talking

Word = Narration

" **Word** _"_ = Thought & Reading

 ** _"_** ** _Word"_** = Jutsu

-o-

 ** _Choosing the Teams!_**

It's been one month since the Academy started and Josuke was _once again_ trying to talk to the Hyūga; his previous attempts were… somewhat interrupted.

But this time, he took the necessary precautions.

First: Telling Naruto that Sakura had lost interest in Sasuke, he'd have to apologize to Sakura later for that one.

Second: Leaving Akamaru behind at Kiba's house so said person would spend the day searching him, he'd have to apologize to Kiba _and_ Akamaru for that one.

Third: Convincing Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji that they needed more practice on their Ino-Shika-Chou combination, no apologize needed for that one.

And now, Josuke was in his usual seat in the back-left of the class, shifting closer to the girl on his right.

"So… Y-You're Hinata… right?" Since Josuke had no idea how to talk to girls, he was just improvising and hoped for the best.

She turned her head and Josuke tried to contain his blush, _again_ , but failed… _again_. However, if Hinata had noticed, she said nothing about it.

Instead, she gave a shy nod and responded "Yes, Hinata Hyūga… Um, forgive me asking but… How did you know my name?"

This struck Josuke like a ton of bricks; he couldn't tell her the truth: That he asked the Sensei for her file, because that would sound… What's the word?

 _Stalker?_ Yeah, that sounded about right.

So, to not make a fool of himself, he responded cooly "I uh… I-I heard it from… places... Yeah"

Being the horrible liar that he is, he looked up to the roof as he said that.

But if Hinata had noticed that was a lie, she said nothing.

Josuke was regretting starting this conversation, he didn't know what to say or _how_ to say it and to top it all off, he was blushing. But determined, he kept on.

"I-I heard that the H-Hyūga's were a very s-strong clan, is that true?" **"Yes, good job, keep going like that, Josuke. You're doing great!"** His mouth said words while his brain was motivating him.

Those motivating words immediately turned to slaps on the face as he saw Hinata hang her head low. **"No! What did I do wrong? Was it something I said?! Damn it Josuke, you idiot!"**

Hinata forced a weak smile on her face "Yeah, _most_ of the clan members are really strong"

 **"** **Okay, boy. Time to turn this around, say something positive!"**

 _"_ I bet you're really strong, right?" **"Good! Like that"**

The weak smile on Hinata's face faded almost instantly "N-No… I'm not _that_ strong"

 **"** **Okay, touchy subject, try something else; maybe her family?"**

Josuke looked to his desk and tried again "Oh, I see. What about your parents? They must be _great_ people if you turned out like this!"

A few tears started pooling in Hinata's eyes. Now Josuke was no expert on woman, but he knew that this conversation was going worse than a drunken sailor with a shotgun at the Artic.

"I-I mean uh…!" **"Josuke! Say something comforting! Don't be such a pansy!"**

He was running out of idea quickly, so he just said what was on his mind.

"I-I like your eyes…!"

 **"…** **Really? That's the best thing you can think of?"**

Hinata wiped off the small tears and gave a shy smile "T-Thank you, uh… What was your name?"

Finally, things weren't looking so horrible for Josuke and giving a big grin, "My name is Josuke Kazuko!"

The atmosphere around them turned into a happy and calm one until…

"Josuke! Have you seen Akamaru anywhere? I can't find him!" _There_ it was…

Kiba had appeared out of nowhere and had startled both Josuke and Hinata, ending the calm part of that atmosphere.

Josuke looked around; faking innocence "I… have no idea where he is"

Giving a disappointed moan, Kiba continued his search, in vain.

Just as Josuke was about to say something else, Iruka's voice sounded through the classroom.

"Okay! Today we have the Taijutsu test and after that, the final test to pass to Genin, which is, of course, the **_Clone Jutsu_**. So Good luck to all of you."

"But for now, let's go outside for the Taijutsu test, everyone follow me please!"

 _X-X-X-X-X_

Outside there was a large circle on the floor drawn out of chalk, which is where the Test will be taken.

Iruka opened his booklet and announced "First off: Uchiha Sasuke V.S Uzumaki Naruto!" But you all know how that story goes.

 _Thirty seconds later_

Naruto was on the floor with Sasuke pinning him down, like always.

"Winner: Uchiha Sasuke!" Is what Iruka _would've_ said if Sasuke's fangirls weren't shouting and yelling, supporting the lone Uchiha for winning.

Re-opening the booklet, the next fighters were called: "Aburame Shino V.S Kazuko Josuke!"

Kiba elbowed his best friend lightly in the ribs, to wake him up; since Josuke was sleeping standing up, _again_.

Slightly annoyed at being woken up (He was dreaming of swimming in a giant Ramen Cup), Josuke made his way to the circle, where he crossed eyes with the… _sun-glasses_ of the 'Bug Boy'.

"Alright then… Begin!"

Shino was the first to react, since Josuke was still drowsy from his nap.

The Aburame stretched his arms out and hundreds of small insects came pouring out of his sleeves, flying towards their destination: Josuke.

However, Josuke was aware of what was happening and dodged to the sides, avoiding the insects.

He jumped up and made some hand seals, **_"Air Style: Raging Winds Multiplied Jutsu!"_** He joined his hands and pushed his palms forward. "This will take care of those insects"

Out of his palms came a ferocious wind that killed all the bugs that were in the way.

Shino was also in the way but he managed to jump towards the left to stay safe, Josuke landed and dashed forward towards the Bug Boy.

He sent a powerful kick towards Shino, as the foot connected with his right side, Josuke felt like he was stuck.

Effectively, Shino's body had disappeared into a swarm of bugs that were now latching onto Josuke's leg.

" _A bug clone? That's new…"_ Making the hand signs again, he blew off most of the insects; the ones that remained were sucking the chakra out of him.

Shino appeared behind him and placed a hand on Josuke's shoulder without said kid knowing.

The hand quickly disappeared as another swarm of insects came rushing out, covering Josuke's shoulder area and then quickly moving to cover most his body.

"I win" Shino's cold - and bored – voice was soft, barely audible but Iruka managed to hear it.

Lifting a hand and opening his mouth, Iruka declared Shino the winner: "Winner: Aburame Shi-"

"Not yet!" Interrupting Iruka's voice came Josuke's one from beneath the bugs.

Josuke disappeared in a cloud of smoke that dissipated to reveal a tree log. The real Josuke appeared above Shino and connected his fists, sending them down on the Aburame's head with force.

The effect was instantaneous; Shino fell forward and landed on the ground as the insects flew back to him to aid their master.

Josuke landed outside the circle, fixing his glasses and showing a winning grin as the insects lifted Shino. **(A.N: Don't ask how that works, it just does)**

Iruka looked over the scene and declared "Winner: Aburame Shino!"

"What?! But I left Shino unconscious! That's the rule!" Josuke, along with most of the class, was confused.

But of course, Iruka ignored him, "You're outside the circle"

The insects had been giving Shino the chakra that was stolen from Josuke so he managed to stand up. "I was not unconscious, Your blow wasn't strong enough to make it so"

Josuke stood still, processing what just happened: He thought he knocked Shino out, but there he was; standing like nothing.

He looked down to his feet and saw that, effectively, he was outside the circle, and since the battle wasn't _technically_ over…

"But that's…! Hah?"

Iruka read through the booklet and announced "Next fighters: Kazuko Hidenori V.S Haruno Sakura! Josuke, get back in the crowd with the rest"

Still confused, Josuke walked back to the crowd, where Kiba was trying his best not to laugh, apparently, neither of them took attention to the names of the next fighters

 _X-X-X-X-X_

"Winner: Kazuko Hidenori!" Sakura was on her knees outside the circle, face in her hands mumbling "Curse that Naruto! Giving me support! He kept distracting me with his annoying voice!"

But of course, Naruto was oblivious to what she felt and walked up to her anyway.

"Don't worry, Sakura-Chan. I think you did a great job!"

In the middle of the crowd, Kiba woke up Josuke - who was napping - and whispered to him, "Hey, that kid comes from the same clan you do"

Josuke opened his eyes and shrugged, "Nah, you probably need to get your ears checked, my clan's pretty small, so I doubt someone else from _my_ clan would be in the same class. It's unlikely"

He closed his eyes again and tried to resume his nap.

Kiba elbowed him again, urging him to stay awake. "I'm from the Inuzuka clan! My hearing is about ten times better than yours"

But Josuke wasn't really in the mood to listen, still a bit mad about his lost match; he closed his eyes again and tried his best to ignore his friend.

After a few failed attempts to keep Josuke awake, Kiba gave up, and sighing, he put his attention back to the test where Iruka was announcing the next fighters.

"Hyūga Hinata V.S Akimichi Chouji!"

Almost immediately, Josuke opened his eyes " **Hinata? Finally, I'll be able to see her strength! Wait, who else is fighting?"**

Chouji walked towards the circle, smiling towards his group of friends: Shikamaru, Ino, Kiba and Josuke.

 **"** **NOOOO! If Chouji fights, I have to support him! But I kinda want Hinata to win… What should I do?"**

As he mentally argued with himself, Iruka announced the start of the fight.

Shikamaru and Kiba were supporting Chouji while Ino and Sakura were with Hinata. Josuke was still mentally arguing.

 **"** **But he's my friend! I** ** _have_** **to support him! But I want Hinata to win!"**

 ** _"_** ** _Partial Multi-Size Jutsu!"_** Josuke snapped out of his thoughts for a second as he saw Chouji's hand grow at least five times its original size and rush towards Hinata.

"Look out, Hinata!" His voice came out before he knew what he said, and when he _did_ realize what he said, he pulled his shirt over his head to cover his embarrassed blush and to avoid the stares of his friends, mostly Ino.

In the safeness of the inside of his shirt, he kept his mental dispute

" **What the hell?! Why did I do that? Because I want Hinata to win? Probably. Great, now Chouji thinks I'm rooting** ** _against_** **him. I'm not! Chouji, I'm not rooting against you. I swear!"**

He pulled himself out of the shirt and was thankful to see that they had stopped paying attention to him.

But suddenly "Winner: Akimichi Chouji!"

Chouji's hand went back to normal size and Hinata was struggling to stand up again, _outside the circle._

The first thought that went through Josuke's head in that moment was: **"Go help her up you idiot!"** Not really thinking, he ran straight towards her and helped her up.

"Josuke, what are you doing….?"

Josuke almost dropped her when he heard Iruka's voice, as the Sensei was eyeing him strangely.

"Uh… J-Just helping out a classmate. Nothing else, Iruka" He gave a nervous laugh and finished helping Hinata, to then walk back to the crowd.

Ino was standing next to Sakura and both of them were smirking at him knowingly. Josuke didn't want to hear what they thought about this strange event involving the optimist Kazuko and the shy Hyūga

"Shut up…!" He said blushing to both of them as he walked past them.

The two girls started laughing while Josuke tried his best to repress the blush.

 _X-X-X-X-X_

Class was almost over and Ino and Sakura were _not_ letting Josuke forget about what he did. Hinata was acting indifferent to the whole thing, because to her, it was just an innocent show of help.

"Alright, before class is over, we'll have the _final_ test to pass to Genin, I hope all of you pass. I'm looking at _you_ , Naruto" Iruka was glaring at Naruto for everyone knew that he was the only one that couldn't master the **_Clone Jutsu_** yet.

Naruto - on the other hand – was smiling. He was too overconfident.

The students formed a line and one by one they showed their **_Clone Jutsu_**. Some were better than others, but bottom line; most students passed.

One of those who didn't pass was Naruto, who was currently pouting angrily in his seat.

"Okay, I will have teams ready tomorrow; those who passed will meet me in room 3-E at 4:30 PM and those who didn't… In this one. Now, the headbands will be on my desk, grab one and you are dismissed!"

Josuke was the first one to run and get a headband before exiting the class, but he wasn't gonna leave _just_ yet.

Before Josuke left, he decided to wait for Naruto just outside the Academy.

"Hey… Naruto, uh… How you holding up?" He decided on a comforting tone to help his friend.

But Naruto was still too optimist to care. "I don't care if I didn't become a Genin, I'll pass the test next time for sure! Believe it! Just you watch, Josuke, I'll become Hokage someday and surpass all of you"

His determination was a thing to admire for sure, so Josuke laughed a bit and wished his blonde friend luck

 _X-X-X-X-X_

Josuke was jumping towards his house, ready to tell his parents that he passed the test to Genin.

He burst open the door and announced: "I did it! I passed the test to Genin!"

Mother and Father were sitting on the table, playing with some cards which they immediately dropped upon hearing the good news.

"Good for you, Josuke!" They were both congratulating him repeatedly as Josuke sat down and thought " **There is nothing that can bring me down now. I've finally become a Ninja!"**

The family of the three spent the rest of the day celebrating by going to different places in Konoha and just having fun.

But, like everything good, it came to an end too soon and they were back home before they knew it. Josuke went straight to bed, waiting impatiently for the next day.

 _X-X-X-X-X_

The rays of sun filtered through the curtains as Josuke woke up and searched his room for his glasses.

He looked outside and smiled as he put on his regular clothes and his newly acquired headband. Leaving a note on the table that said that he was leaving for school, he kept thinking " **I'm a Ninja! I'm a Ninja! I'm a Ninja!"**

Too happy to think straight, he ran back to his room and jumped out the window, heading towards Ichiraku Ramen.

He didn't care if he woke up late today, since; after all, the teams were chosen at 4:30 PM, so he had plenty of time to waste, and time wasted eating is hardly considered a waste, at least in Josuke's opinion.

As he neared the Ramen shop, he saw Chouji sitting on one of the stools, eating… Like always.

"Hey Chouji!"

Chouji spun around on his chair and greeted his old friend like usual. Josuke sat down next to him, ordering a plate of Ramen.

But Chouji was acting a little more… distant than usual, so Josuke started the conversation; he wanted to know what was wrong with him

"Chouji, you seem down, what's up?"

He said nothing, debating whether to ask or not. He decided to ask.

"Yesterday, were you rooting _against_ me?" Josuke was not expecting that, but knew at what he was referring to: when he yelled 'Look out Hinata!'

For the Akimichi clan, friendship is important, _very_ important, so since Chouji thought that Josuke was going against him, it was as if he was being betrayed.

Josuke started to blush, recalling the warning and managed to stutter out "N-No, of course not. I-I was just worried that someone would get hurt! I would never betray my friends!"

That explanation was vague at best, but it was enough.

He wasn't sure if that explanation actually _did_ help, but after that; Chouji looked better, so after eating a bit more and begging Old man Teuchi to let them pay later, they left for the Academy, where they would finally find out their teams.

 _X-X-X-X-X_

Since today was important, Josuke didn't take his usual seat at the back but instead next to Kiba, at the front.

Josuke didn't even notice that there was someone else where he was going to sit until he almost sat on top of him. "Hey, Josuke! Watch where you're sitting!"

Confused and surprised, Josuke turned to see the head of his spiky-blonde classmate, sporting his new headband, although it looked old.

"Naruto? Why are you here? I thought you failed"

Wanting to impress more than usual, Naruto told the story of how he and Iruka were attacked by Mizuki, another Jounin at the Academy but making it sound much more epic than it really was.

"…And then, I kicked Mizuki into a tree which broke in half. But he stood up and threw a giant Ninja Star at me, but I deflected it with one hand! It was awesome!"

Lies like that. Lies that Josuke believed.

After Naruto finished his story, he left to sit next to Sakura. "Come on, Josuke. You can't actually believe that he actually _did_ all that stuff" Kiba was trying to convince Josuke that the story was a lie.

But as Josuke stayed firm, so did Kiba. "We're talking about a kid who couldn't even last a minute against Sasuke, even _you_ can last a minute or two against him. _You!"_

 _"_ Ow…" Josuke put his hand to his heart and faked hurt, but still refused to believe Kiba.

"Okay, the story might be real, but there are some parts that you know couldn't be true. I mean, come on: Naruto back flipping into a tree to then impulse himself into Mizuki who exploded into a rainbow? There is no way you could believe that!"

Kiba kept on trying to convince Josuke, in vain until Iruka walked in, with a long piece of cloth surrounding his middle torso area.

That shut Kiba up.

"Kids, I will make this quick. I got into a… _accident_ yesterday and I am supposed to be resting but first… The teams"

All the kids stayed silent while Iruka passed the names; some boys and girls groaned when they found out who their team was but the most annoying ones were Sasuke's fangirls.

Josuke wasn't really paying attention until he heard: "Team 9 will be made of: Hyūga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and…" Josuke looked up at Iruka hopefully.

"… Kazuko Josuke"

But even though Josuke seemed indifferent on the outside, inside he was nervous. The Hyūga girl? On his team? If he blushes and stutters when he just _talks_ to her, how will he manage if they're on the same team?

He slowly turned his head to Kiba who was smiling victoriously.

"Hey… Kiba. Shouldn't we go… say Hello to our new teammate?" He whispered quietly enough, ignoring Iruka's voice who was announcing the next team ("Team 11 will be made of: Aburame Shino, Kazuko Hidenori and Kazuko Suki")

Kiba looked at him suspiciously, then at their new teammate, then back at Josuke and nodded. "You go…"

 _Meanwhile, in the back_

Hinata was lost in her own thoughts **"Aw, I'm not on Naruto's team… But at least I know** ** _one_** **of my teammates…. "**

As she looked forward to her new team at the front, Hinata realized something. **"Wait… Wasn't he the one that said that he liked my eyes?"**

She gave some thought and had a small smile **"Well, I guess I could still make the most of it"**

 _Back at the front_

"I will pass each group a note written by your new Jounin Sensei's that will indicate in which class you shall meet tomorrow. Until then, I suggest you get to know your classmates"

 _X-X-X-X-X_

Kiba was reading the note while Josuke made his way to the back of the class.

"Hey, so we're on the same team apparently. I'm Josuke… But you already knew that, didn't you…?" He let a small nervous chuckle and tried again.

"That down there is Kiba; he's reading the note from our Sensei. Her name is Kurenai and we'll have to meet tomorrow in the forest near the Academy" **"Yeah, good job, Josuke. Just keep it under control"**

Hinata nodded and gave a typical sweet smile "Okay, thank you" Josuke turned around to walk back to his friend, blushing. It was the first time he could talk to her without blushing!

He sat down next to Kiba and smiled, staring into the nothing.

"You seem happy, did something happen in the last _fifteen_ seconds?" Kiba was confused when he saw Josuke sit down, giving a very dream-like smile.

He simply shook his head and stood up, leaving the classroom when he heard the bell.

 _X-X-X-X-X_

It was the day after yesterday. Sitting on a log, Josuke was humming a happy tune while waiting for his team and Sensei to show up

Suddenly, he heard a loud explosion about twenty meters from his position. Without thinking, he ran straight towards it, he knew it might be out of his league but he wanted to make sure everything was alright.

Jumping from tree to tree, a branch appeared out of nowhere, hitting him in the face. He fell down to the ground and started hearing loud whispers.

The whispers were coming in from every direction and they were saying one word, but he was too shocked to understand it.

He knew that the whispers weren't going to cease, so after a while he tried to regain his calm, listening intently to the whispers.

" _Genjutsu… Genjutsu…"_ Is what the whispers were saying, sure it would've been an easy thing to understand but with so many and at such a loud volume, he couldn't know until then.

Quickly putting two and two together, he deduced that this was, effectively, a Genjutsu.

He sighed; there was no way out of this. Of course he would be trapped in the thing he's worst at. It's his bad luck.

But, he tried anyway. Making the hand sign, he focused his chakra and tried his best to undo this.

His focus worked as he suddenly found himself lying on the floor, staring at the sky.

Sitting up abruptly, he said to himself "I did it? I had no idea I was this good at Genjutsu… Huh, learn something new every day I guess"

"What do you mean?"

Josuke almost jumped, he wasn't expecting someone to be behind him. He turned his head and saw Hinata sitting behind him with a confused look on her face.

Struggling to find words again, he stuttered out "H-How did you know I was here?"

"I saw you sitting on a log and then suddenly, you fell down. I activated my _Byakugan_ and saw that your Chakra flow was messed up, so I hurried to help you"

Josuke nodded and replied softly "So… I was in a Genjutsu and… you undid it?"

Hinata nodded.

"So I _am_ still bad at Genjutsu…"

She nodded again.

Josuke sighed and looked around, standing up abruptly "The explosion!"

"What explosion?"

He jumped onto a tree and scanned the area "I heard an explosion…" He stopped for a second and jumped down with an embarrassed look on his face. "That was part of the Genjutsu… Wasn't it?"

Hinata nodded for third time and Josuke hung his head low.

They spent a few more minutes waiting for Kiba to show up. Eventually, Josuke got bored and he started practicing his _Taijutsu._

A loud bark came through the bushes and Akamaru jumped out of them, followed by Kiba. He had a worried look on his face and a part of his clothes were torn.

"Kiba! What happened to you?" Josuke had stopped training and had run towards him.

But Kiba wasn't listening; he looked from Josuke to Hinata for a bit and after a while he relaxed.

They made Kiba sit on the log and explain what happened.

"Well, I was making my way over here and I suddenly heard your voices. Not as if you two were talking, more as if you were being… tortured. So, naturally, I came here running and about ten meters back I found both your body's laying on the floor… Dead"

A few seconds passed until Josuke realized what had been said, and after he _did_ realize, he asked Kiba a question.

"So, is that why you came running?"

Kiba nodded and turned to both of them "But after I regained my control I realized that there was no reason for anyone to torture a few Genin, much less kill them. But I was still worried… And right as I figured that out. You two… exploded into a bunch of cats…"

Josuke tried to hold back his laugh as that was what Naruto had said when he was telling the story of how he got his headband.

Kiba continued "And after that, I was sure it was a Genjutsu, so I dispelled it and ran straight forward, of course I was still a bit scared so I ran without thinking… Which explains my torn clothes"

But Josuke had stopped listening, he was thinking **"Apparently, two of our team members were attacked by Genjutsu, so someone** ** _does_** **want to attack us or… Someone's pulling a prank on us?"**

As he was thinking, no one noticed another figure appear behind them. A tall woman with long wavy hair and a strange white outfit that looked like it was made out of cloths looked over the three.

"So scared from a few simple Genjutsu's? I thought my team could handle more" Her voice was teasing but caring at the same time, like an older sister.

Hinata and Kiba looked up to see the newcomer while Josuke jumped from the sudden voice.

As Josuke sat back straight, Hinata was the first to talk "So, you're our new Sensei?"

The woman nodded and smiled "My name is Kurenai Yuhi But you kids just call me Kurenai-Sensei"

Josuke looked at the woman up and down "Your clothes look weird" Apparently, Josuke was innocently honest.

She looked down at him and hit him lightly on the head. "Treat your superiors with respect!" This made Josuke flinch and hold his head, pouting.

Kiba, who had stayed silent until now, spoke up "Wait… Are you the one that put those Genjutsu's on us?"

The Sensei laughed "Looks like I have a smart one on my team. Yes, I put you three under my Genjutsu's to see if you could… _handle it_ " She said the last part looking at Kiba, who frowned.

Ignoring his frown, she turned to face the whole team.

"I won't blab on about unnecessary things so I'll just go out with it. See that tree on the top of that hill?" She pointed towards a far-off hill in the West.

The three of them nodded.

"You'll have to make it up there today. Up there are two Bento's specially prepared with the best ingredients and with the most skilled hand, mine. There are _only_ two so the one that does not make it up there in time or the last one to make up there will not have one"

Josuke and Kiba looked at each other as a silent competition formed in the silence.

"Well sorry, Kiba. Looks like today, you won't be able to eat." Josuke was pulling off a confident smirk as Kiba growled.

But Kiba also had the confident aura around him "Well we'll have to see who's the faster one; even though it's obviously me… I think I'll give the extra one to Akamaru" He started laughing as Kurenai hit him on the head.

"If you two keep talking, there won't be an extra one. While you two were talking about who'd make it first, I gave the order to start. See? Hinata's already got a head start on you two"

She pointed to the West and the two Genin turned to see Hinata's leaving figure jumping on the tree branches.

"Well I'll be the next one to get the head start!" Kiba ran off in Hinata's direction laughing evilly. "I suggest you get going, Josuke" Kurenai's voice made him remember that if he arrived last, he would have no food.

Jumping off at an incredible speed, Josuke chased after his teammates as Kurenai gave a small laugh.

"Let's see if they're able to actually _make_ their way up there, with all those traps I put; it'll be fun to watch"

-o-

 **HOLY MOTHER TERESA ON THE HOOD OF A MERCEDES BENZ! ALMOST 5000 WORDS! This chapter was a bit longer than I anticipated since at the start I remembered that Taijutsu test** **that took place before they graduated and I think I spent a little too much time just writing down details.**

 **As always, enjoy and review!**

 **Bento = Lunch**

 **Genjutsu = Mental illusion/technique**

 **And with that, I say Goodbye c:**


End file.
